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Some Snippets From Microsoft's Response.
Microsoft has no intention of withholding CoD from PlayStation. Its recent actions clearly demonstrate that its incentives are to widen distribution of CoD on consoles (as well as other devices). In present value terms, anticipated future revenues from CoD on PlayStation account for approximately []% (~$[]) of the overall value of the deal for Microsoft. A withholding strategy would involve immediately forgoing this substantial revenue stream, []. Yet the CMA is unable to point to a single piece of evidence to suggest that Microsoft has even considered such a strategy, let alone plans to pursue it. That is because no such evidence exists.
Nor can the CMA place reliance on Microsoft's "past behaviour" following acquisitions of smaller studios/publishers to question the clearly articulated strategy in relation to this deal. Minecraft remains the closest analogue to CoD in terms of Microsoft's previous acquisition. Minecraft has remained on all platforms post-acquisition, in addition to being made available on many new platforms, including Nintendo. This is entirely consistent with the strategy Microsoft has repeatedly set out in relation to this Merger.
The Provisional Findings also fail to take account of a key difference between this Merger and previous Microsoft gaming deals. Here, unlike in previous acquisitions, Microsoft senior leadership has publicly committed to making a specific game, CoD, available on other platforms. This did not occur in ZeniMax, nor in any other deal flagged by the CMA.
In addition, its first-party library is supported by a portfolio of high-quality exclusive third-party content. Sony also has exclusive agreements for many of the most highly anticipated third-party releases in 2023, such as Final Fantasy XVI and Forspoken both from Square Enix, with whom Sony has a decades-long relationship. Industry commentators note that Sony is "the dominant platform that publishers like Square Enix simply can't afford to ignore". Sony could easily retaliate if Microsoft were to make CoD exclusive post-Merger, including by making more popular games exclusive to PlayStation.
Think Microsoft Found Their Argument for CAT.
